Fetterman endorses Menendez’s primary opponent
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez’s most ardent critic in the Senate has endorsed one of his primary challengers.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who was the first senator to call on the New Jersey Democrat to resign following an indictment on federal corruption charges in September, announced Thursday he was supporting U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, DN.J., for the job. Mr. Kim faces Tammy Murphy, wife of Gov. Phil Murphy, in the New Jersey Democratic primary.
“Congressman Andy Kim is a man of integrity and deep honor,” Mr. Fetterman, D-Pa., said in a statement. “We’ve seen that in his leadership — in the Obama administration and in Congress. We saw it when he rolled up his sleeves to clean up our Capitol after the January 6th insurrection. And we’re seeing it, now, taking on powerful political bosses as he fights to restore integrity to the Senate.”
Mr. Fetterman began raising money for Mr. Kim’s Senate race in October, but did not endorse him at that time.
Mr. Kim ousted Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., in 2018 as Democrats captured control of the U.S. House, and has been re-elected twice since then. He served as a national security aide in President Barack Obama’s administration, and a photo of him picking up debris in the U.S. Capitol left behind by supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed the building on Jan. 6, 2021, went viral. The suit he wore on that day is now in the hands of the Smithsonian Museum.
“Senator Fetterman is a champion for working people and honest government,” Mr. Kim said. “He knows that the people deserve leaders who actually fight for them — not just the wealthy and the well-connected. ... Together, we will stand up against corruption and deliver for our constituents.”
Mr. Fetterman, who has called for Mr. Menendez to be expelled from the Senate if he won’t resign, has likened the senator to Tony Soprano, the fictional New Jersey mob boss; dubbed him “Bobby Gold Bars” since the indictment said he received bars of gold as a bribe; and said he was “officially less popular than cold sores.”
In endorsing Mr. Kim, Mr. Fetterman said: “I feel very secure knowing that he has no gold bars underneath his mattress and won’t ever be accused of being a foreign agent for Egypt or Qatar.”